I’ll be honest: lunch is typically not my favorite meal of the day. I’ve worked outside of the home for the last 13 years, and taking a sack lunch day after day can get boring. But going out to lunch can be expensive – not to mention bad for the skinny jeans.

If you’re like me, and want a little more pizzazz in your workday lunches, you need to try these Jacked-Up Chicken Salad Sandwiches. Full of flavor, but light{er} on calories, you can feel good about taking a real lunch with you {or sending with your kiddos} when you head out the door.

I started by taking one piece of Sargento colby-jack reduced-fat cheese and slicing it diagonally to make two triangles. Place the cheese into a pita pocket {I used a panini bread here, because that’s what I had on hand – but pita bread would work better and create less mess}.

Next, mix up your chicken salad: I used just a little plain Greek yogurt mixed with some buffalo sauce to make the dressing, and added in some diced celery and carrots for crunch. Since I don’t often have a lot of extra time during the work week to pack lunches, I stirred in some precooked chicken I purchased at the market.

If you have the time to cook and shred your own chicken ahead of time, more power to you. 😉

Make sure to keep your chicken salad filling in a separate container until you’re ready to eat – otherwise, your sandwich will get soggy, and no one likes that.

I chose to use colby-jack on these sandwiches because it’s Doodle’s favorite. But I think pepper-jack or mozzarella would be just as awesome. Quite honestly – you can’t go wrong with cheese.

1 to 3 tablespoons buffalo-wing sauce (like Frank's) - start with 1 tablespoon of wing sauce, and adjust to meet your desired heat level. We used 3 tablespoons and it was very spicy, but we like things HOT.

1½ teaspoons dry ranch seasoning mix

2 celery stalks, diced (about ¼ cup)

¼ cup diced carrots

6 ounces cooked chicken, diced or shredded

2 sliced Sargento reduced-fat Colby Jack cheese

2 pita pockets

Instructions

Cut cheese squares on the diagonal to form 4 triangles. Place 2 triangles into each pita pocket.

In a medium bowl, mix together yogurt, buffalo wing sauce and ranch mix until smooth. Add additional wing sauce, if desired. Add in carrots, celery, and chicken, tossing to coat.

When ready to serve, spoon half of the chicken salad mixture into each pita pocket.